The Last Saga
by Margie Smitherson
Summary: The girls are in their Junior years when everything with the couples suddenly goes wrong and there's only one couple that can make it unscathed. Who is the couple? Will the others get back together? The last chapter will be a quick view into the girls' lives after college- thanks for reading and stay sweet! -Margie Smitherson
1. Red Sky at night, Sailor's Delight

MEGAN

"How did I get in the middle of this?" Tristan Berkley groans. Cassidy Sloane nudges him with her elbow.

"If you come to the girls' party then you got to play the girls' games." He grumbles, but he can't stand up to Cassidy. No one can- not even Tristan, if he wants to stay on her good side. I grin.

"Okay," I say to Darcy, Stewart, and Simon, who are wolfing down all the chips "stop stuffing your faces and come over here!"

"What!" Darcy yelps," the game is literally called Girls' night out!"

"My party," I say. Simon grins and slips his hand into mine. "Alright, what you have to do is fill out all the answers and then we guess whose it is." Mere seconds after I hand out the slips of paper, Emma's hand flies up.

"Emma, it's a party!" Becca says in exasperation. Emma shrugs.

"Does a family member count for first kiss?" She asks. Jess glances at Emma.

"This I got to hear! Spill it, Hawthorne!" demands Cassidy. Emma and Darcy both turn beet red.

"Um, Jess?" Emma asks. Jess sighs.

"When we were little, we always played Peter Pan because Darcy wanted to be a mermaid, specifically Ariel. Emma was Peter and I was Wendy. Darcy the mermaid dumped buckets of water on me and tried to kiss Emma." We all howled as Darcy turned a bright red.

"No," I say, "that doesn't count, Ariel" For a while, we're all silent as we fill them out. Cassidy is the first to finish. After everyone finishes, I pull the first paper out of the bucket.

"Okay- favorite place, Kimball Farm. First kiss, Zach Norton." Everyone looks at Zach. "Who here would I most want to kiss, Tristan Berkley. Who here do I most dislike, Stinkerbelle." Stinkerbelle glowers at us- Gigi invited her: "Kill her with kindness" she says. (And she said if I invited her myself I could wear her diamond earrings on my date.) "Describe your favorite thing in a few words- cold, slippery. Last, My Mom is too prissy."

"Cassidy" I immediately think. Sure enough, it is Cassidy, and everyone gets it.

"Hey, how about if everyone gets it the person who they want to kiss gets to kiss them?" Tristan suggests slyly as Cassidy squirms.

The next one is confusing.

"Favorite place, London. First kiss, Tristan Berkley. Person I want to kiss, none. Who do I most dislike, Cassidy. Describe my favorite thing: loud, cheering. My mom is too bossy."

This one leaves me thinking until I look again at person I most dislike- It has to be Stinkerbelle's. Sure enough, it is hers, but only about half of us- me, Cassidy, Emma, Stewart, Tristan, and Simon- get it right. The next one that I pull out is mine.

"Okay- favorite place, Paris. First kiss and person they want to kiss, Simon. Who do they most dislike, also Stinkerbelle, their favorite thing is sparkly and silky, and their mom is too organic."

Unsurprisingly, everyone guesses it- I think the organic part did it. We continue the game, and I have to agree with them: I guess it kind of does stink. Oh, well. Then Cassidy, Becca, Annabelle, Sophie, all the boys, and I play spin the bottle. Wait, that's not true. Stewart doesn't. Gigi says she played it with my Papi and married him. Mom doesn't like to talk about Papi. Tristan went first and it lands on Cassidy. So does Zach's. And Darcy's. And Simon's.

"That's enough!" Cassidy says, "I'm out! Spin again, Simon." He does, and it lands on me. I grin, and know I have hosted one of the best parties ever!


	2. A Wolf Never Falters Before the Kill

Emma

Even I know good times never last. Even though my mom's an Austen nut and I am too, nothing ever turns out right, unlike the stories. Maybe Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennett break up after the book- it sure seems that way. Am I making any sense? I better explain. Megan decided to have this "Most loyal couple" contest since Mrs. Kincaid-Sloane thought it would be a "cute game", and since she was the world famous Clementine, Megan will do pretty much anything she suggests. Bad idea, I think, but don't say. Stewart, Jess, Darcy and I judge- both Stewart and Jess say no way. The couples- Becca and Theo, Cassidy and Tristan, Megan and Simon, and Zach and Sophie- line up in front of us. We eliminate Becca and Theo because they had just fought about punch flavors- who fights about punch? We discuss and decide to eliminate Zach and Sophie because they also fight a lot, but when we announced it, Zach looks mad- really mad!

"What! How are they more loyal than we are?" (all of the moms had each promised twenty bucks for the winners.)

"They don't fight as much," Jess says smoothly.

"Oh yeah?" Zach says, nudging Tristan, "What about that party in April?"

"No Zach, please don't! This doesn't matter that much! I'll drop out!" He begs. It doesn't seem to affect Zach.

"Seems Mr. Perfect was kissing someone else." Cassidy looks at him with a look that would have killed a cat. Before she can smack him, Simon speaks up.

"So do Megan and I win then?" He asks. Zach laughs.

"Who do you think that it was who Mr. Fancypants was kissing?" He asks. Simon looks confused. "Yes, it was your precious Megan!"

Megan cries out. Simon backs away, looking like a wounded puppy. With that, the party is over. Everyone calls and gets a ride but Megan, since the party's at her house. Everyone but the Berkelys and Cassidy leave. Simon and Cass wait on the porch and Tristan comes inside- neither of them will talk to him. We sit on her bed and I look at her. It isn't a great time- tears are streaming down her cheeks.

"Meg- I've known you for a long time, and I know that you wouldn't do that," I say. It takes Megan a long, long time to calm down, but when she does, she explains.

"You know how Stinkerbelle tricked you into kissing Rupert?" I nodded. "Well, she did it again. Pushed us together and took a picture. When we yelled at her, she said she would tell everyone if we said a thing. Zach was there for just a split second- he didn't see her push us." She sobbed again.

"If only there was a way to prove it!" I say.

"There was."

"Was? What do you mean was?"

"She accidentally took a picture early- it has her pushing us. But she deleted it." She says. I smile. "What?"

"Come in here, Tristan," I call. He obeys, and I immediately explain the situation. "Darcy knows how to get those back- I deleted the pictures of me as Peter Pan and he got them back. He left the mermaid pictures as deleted, though."

"But how will we get Stinkerbelle's phone?" She asks, and I smile again.

"Tristan," He gulps "She still likes you,"

"But…"

"You want to get Cass back, right?"

Although Megan is still crying, she looks really grateful- at least until we go outside to wait for my dad. I try to make her go back inside, but she looks past me, and she sees it.


	3. Fool Me once, Shame on You

Hey guys, thank you for reading. I hope you like this next chapter and stay smart!

-Margie Smithson

Cassidy

I'll admit it, he hurt me pretty darn good. I've always put on a mask to hide my feelings, but I've never been hurt so bad before. I think the time that I broke my ankle was better- I got over it. I'm sitting on the porch with Simon, waiting for my mom.

"That was some party, wasn't it?" I say.

"I just can't believe she'd do that to me. She seemed so nice…"

"I know, right?"

"Well," He says, "I'm going to have an awful hard time at home ignoring him." I suddenly burst into tears.

"Why can't they suffer?" I bawl "Why is it always me? My, my dad…"

"Maybe they can suffer." Simon shows me a trick that he learned at camp. If you put your heads together at a certain angle it looks like you're kissing. I agree- what better way to get back at them by doing the same thing? At that point, I'm so hurt I'd do anything to give some of my hurt to them. Take that, Tristan. As soon as they open the door- their faces look almost hopeful- we fake it. Megan runs back into her house bawling and Tristan says nothing, just leaves. Emma stays.

"Listen guys, just give them a chance," she says," they were…"

"I don't care!" I scream. "I don't care!"

"I know you're her friend, but I think you should stay out of this." Simon says.

"But I'm your friend too, Cassidy." I turn away. "Cassidy?"

"Just go away," I say, "Run to your precious Stewart."

She runs back inside crying too, but I don't care. Why is everyone on their side? I'm going to talk to Jess and Becca before Emma and Megan do. I bet I'll at least get one on them on my side. My mom finally arrives.

"Guess what?" she says," Mrs. Berkely called me and asked me to pick the boys up!"

Scowling, I go into the house and scream "Tristan!" I trudge back to the car, not bothering to check if he's coming. What do I care? I hope he can stay there forever with his precious Megan. I get in the back and Simon gets in beside me, leaving Tristan to sit next to my mother.

"So, how did my couples contest go? Who won?" She asks.

"I guess Zach and Sophie did. Tell him all of us say congrats." I say dryly.

"Oh, okay." As soon as the boys leave, she turns to me. "How did it really go?"

"I broke up with Tristan and Simon broke up with Megan." She covers her mouth.

"Why?"

"Zach Norton caught them kissing. I don't know whether to thank him or scream at him."

"Oh, Cassidy baby." She grabs me in a hug (She had parked the car.) I want to protest, to say I'm fine, but instead I cry, and my Mother cries with me. We cry and cry until she realizes she has to go home and make dinner or Stanley will go crazy. But all I can think is what will _I_ do?


	4. Chadwickius Sneakius

**Hey guys- what do you think of my chapter names? Any of you recognize references? My first one was from the old sailor's warning, the second was an old quarry song, the third you guys should all know. Can't wait for reviews! Stay smart!**

-Margie Smitherson

Becca

I just get off the phone with Ashley and someone knocks on my bedroom door. I open it, and there stands Cassidy Sloane.

"Come in," I say, and she does, wrinkling her nose at my pink walls and canopy. Cassidy Sloane wouldn't be caught dead in pink.

"I just came to see what side you're on," She says. I look at her in disbelief.

"I know Megan might be my best friend, but seriously, Cassidy? She kissed your boyfriend behind your back. Of course I'm on your side!" She relaxes.

"Good, because Emma is spreading some sort of lie how they were tricked." She says. I wrinkle my nose.

"How? Were they, like, pushed together?" We laugh, and I offer to walk her home. I slide my cellphone in my pocket.

"Hey," she suddenly says, "we should go talk to Jess."

"Good idea," I say. We walk up to Half Moon Farm. Mr. and Mrs. Delaney aren't in sight, so we go right up. We knock on her door, and we hear voices. Uh-oh. Sure enough, we open the door, and there are Emma and Jess.

"Uh, my mom sent me to ask if- um- you guys had cheese available next Tuesday?" Cassidy blurts out. Jess nods.

"Look, Cassidy, it wasn't their fault. It was…"

"SHUT UP!" Cassidy screams. "I DON'T CARE!"

"Fine!" Jess snaps. "How about you guys get out of my room?"

"Fine." I say.

We walk home past the Hawthorne's. Cassidy is telling me about how Emma is tricking people, when I hear voices.

"Quiet!" I whisper. We creep around the hedge to see a girl flirting with Darcy. I get out my phone.

"Listen, I have a girlfriend!" He says.

"Oh," She says. She starts walking away, then spins on her heel and kisses him. CLICK. As Darcy angrily shoves her away, Cassidy and I creep back around the hedge. I can't wait till Jess sees this!


	5. May God thy Bold Refine

Jess

I'm sitting and talking with Emma in her room and suddenly I hear a faint _bling bling_. I dig out my cell phone. "New text" it says. I type in the password (Sundance) and it opens up to my message screen. It reads "New message from Becca Chadwick."

"Yeah, no," I say, tossing my phone aside.

"Jess, don't be silly," Emma says, picking up the phone," maybe she wants to apologize." I snort. Becca? Apologize? Emma opens up the message. Her face instantly changes from tranquil to shocked.

"What?" I ask, trying to get my phone, but Emma doesn't let me. "Emma?" I grab it from her.

"No!" She yells. I click on the message. Up pops a picture- of Emma's brother kissing another girl- a really pretty other girl. I sink back onto my bed.

"Jess…"

"Now I finally know how Cassidy feels." I say. I roll over to face Emma. "Are you sure Megan was telling the truth? Maybe she just didn't want anyone to know that she did it. How do I know you're telling the truth?" My voice is getting higher.

"Jess!"

"You know, I bet you planned this, didn't you? You found out that Becca took this and told that lie about Megan so that I would think the same thing happened!"

"Jess, please!"

"Get out of my house!" She runs out sobbing- not that I care one bit. I write two messages- one to Cassidy, telling her that I'm on her side. The other is to Darcy. It's the picture Becca sent to me. I flop down on my bed again.

"Jess, come feed the goats!"

"Coming!" Before I go, I hit send. The phone rings as I'm leaving. I immediately hit ignore. I hesitate, but then I hit "block caller." It asks "are you sure?" Am I sure? Am I sure that I never want to speak to my boyfriend again? Am I sure that I never want to speak to the first guy I liked? Am I sure I never want to speak to my best friends? I hit send. As Cassidy would say, score: Jess:1 Hawthornes:0.


	6. Just as long as we're not together

**Hey guys, sorry for the short chapters. Thanks for the reviews though! I'll try to update every day, but it takes like 3 hours to post. Anyway, stay smart! -Margie **

Megan

Why can't he understand it was a misunderstanding? He knows how vicious Annabelle is- she is his cousin-, and he knows what happened to Emma when she went to England. Not that I'd compare Tristan to Rupert, but still! Simon was supposedly to be the nicest, most understanding of the guys. I guess not, at least not when it comes to something important. There was an honest mistake and then he goes and kisses Cassidy. What kind of guy does that? It was all Annabelle's fault- it's always Annabelle's fault! As I'm thinking, Sophie comes in, looking furious. Since Gigi helped smooth things over between us, we've actually been able to talk to each other.

"Hey, what's wrong?" I ask.

"I just broke up with Zach." I'm stunned.

"Why?" I ask, though I think I know why.

"He ruined the party," she says, "You guys just made a mistake." I sigh.

"Sophie," I say, "it's not what it seems." I explain it to her.

"Wow," she says,"I guess we were all quick to make assumptions. Well, I'm totally on your side- who is on each side?"

"Well, Emma, you, Stewart, Darcy, and Tristan are on my side," I say," and Jess, Becca, Simon, and Zach are on Cassidy's. I guess Theo is too, since nowadays he pretty much goes along with whatever Becca says."

"Ugh," She says," I totally believe you but the odds are bad- six versus six. Hey, did you notice how odd the teams are?"

"Huh?"

"I mean, for example Jess is on an opposite side from Emma and Darcy. And I broke up with Zach, you broke up with- wait"

"What?" I ask.

"Are Jess and Darcy still together?" She questions me.

"Uh… no. They broke up a day ago, but I don't know why."

"Did you realize there are only two couples left?" She asks. "Emma and Stewart and Becca and Theo."

"Wow," I say, but what I'm thinking is who will be next?


	7. Stewart, Stewart, Where Art Thou?

Emma

I absolutely cannot believe Becca Chadwick did that! Darcy explained to me what happened, and I believe him. Still! What a rotten thing to do! Darcy was moping all day yesterday. I bet Becca knew it was Cheryl's fault too! (Cheryl is the girl's name, in case you didn't guess.) This is tearing us apart- I can't believe Jess! I thought she was my best friend. I guess me and Stewart and Becca and Theo are the only couples standing. So far, the only good thing happening- summer- is being ignored. I check my watch- only ten thirty. I'm supposed to meet Stewart at the pool at one. At least _we're_ not ignoring summer. I don't think Darcy's doing too well with summer thanks to Becca; he's had Kyle over for days now. I stand up- I've been thinking on my bed. I guess I should be the good sister and go talk to him, though the chances are good that they're asleep. I slowly walk down the hall to Darcy's room, yawning. As I expected, the boys are still asleep. At least now I can be the lazy sister and read a book. Suddenly, something shiny catches my eye. When I pick it up, I see that it's a silver necklace. The necklace is made of intertwining loops and little aquamarines. Poor Darcy. He must have gotten it for Jess. I creep out, resolving to read a book before lunchtime. I hunker down in my chair and begin to read.

I'm lost in the book, when suddenly I'm startled by a voice- my mother.

"Emma, Darcy, Kyle! Lunch!" I teeter down the stairs and I'm greeted by my father, who is writing another novel.

"Hey, Emma. Should Eliza Collinsburough live in a tiny cottage in New England? It doesn't feel right."

"Yeah- maybe she should live in England." I say. My father snaps his fingers.

"England! That's it! Thanks Emma!"

"Sure, Dad." I say. He walks away, muttering

"England! I should have thought of England."

At the table, Darcy and Kyle are devouring grilled chicken as fast as my mom can cook them.

"Okay, boys," she says, laughing, "Let Emma have some." They reluctantly pause with the chicken and start gobbling the rolls. I quickly grab one, just as my mom sets down a perfect piece of chicken. Ahhhh. Today finally feels like summer. When I finish, I quickly run upstairs to pick a swimsuit. No bikinis- I've slimmed down, but they feel like I'm wearing my underwear in public. No way. My on-piece makes me look five. I finally settle on a purple polka-dot tankini and I run downstairs. Kyle whistles.

"Shut up," I tell him. Kyle Anderson is like my second brother, and I sure don't need one. "I'm going to ride my bike to the pool, okay?" I call to my mom.

"Okay," she calls from the office.

"Phoebe! What do you think of the name Anna Durham?" I hear my Dad ask as I leave. I hop on my bike and pedal to the pool. When I arrive, Stewart isn't there. That's fine- I can wait. I sit by the fence and wait. For ten minutes. Fifteen. Twenty. A half-hour. When, I've waited for forty five minute, I jump back onto my bike and pedal home. When I near my street, I see Stewart. He's playing football with some other guy. I dismount.

"Hey," I say, "where were you?'

"Here," He replied. I begin getting very annoyed.

"Why didn't you at least call?"

"Look, Emma, I'm sorry. I didn't want to be late. How about a movie tonight? My treat- at five."

I climb back on my bike and head towards home. When I see the clock- two thirty- I realize that I'm going to be late for the book club meeting if I don't hurry. I hurriedly pull on a pair of jeans and a blouse. My mom tears in.

"Emma! There you are! Hurry and get in the car!"

We climb in and head to book club- we're reading The Little Princess. It's like Daddy Long-Legs, and the reason we picked it (we _are _juniors) is because the money for the books goes to an Orphanage. Sigh. When we finally arrive at the Sloane's, my Mom parks the car, and I see we are indeed last. We rush in.

"Oh, hello Phoebe, Emma," Mrs. Delaney says, sounding relieved. I see that the room is divided- Becca, Jess, and Cassidy are on one couch and a very sad looking Megan is on the other. The mothers are "worriedly tittering" as Jane Austen would say. I sit down next to Megan. None of us pay attention to the fun facts, and when Megan starts to read, her voice is thin and shaking. Cassidy reads like someone who has just been tortured and Becca reads extremely snarkily. When the meeting is almost over, the mothers look exhausted.

"Well, thank you Clementine, but I think we better go," My mother says, rising.

"Lily and I should go too," Says Mrs. Chadwick hastily. Mrs. Delaney nods.

"Okay- Shannon, call me when my order of cheese is ready." Mrs. Sloane-Kincaid says. We shuffle out.

"Whew!" My mother says when we get in the car," I didn't know it was _that _bad!" She checks her watch. "You better go get ready for your date with Stewart," She says.

That is, if Stewart shows up.


	8. You Snooze you Lose

**Hey y'all! Hope you liked the last chapter! This one has a twist- you'll find out the reason for the weird y'all. Anyway, this chapter sort of gives away who will be the last couple together and comes with a twist. I just finished Wish You were Eyre. If you haven't read it read it! It's the best in the series. Thanks for the great reviews! Stay Smart -Margie**

Cassidy

Push! Glide! I soar around the ice, feeling only my blades meeting ice and my heart, beating so fast I half expect it to pop out. I love that feeling, a feeling that only happens after a good day of practice. The coach blows her whistle, and we all skate to the center of the ice.

"Okay, girls," She says," good practice today. Keep it up." I start to walk towards Jess and Becca, who are sitting in the bleachers. To the right sits Emma, Megan and Sophie, waiting for Darcy's practice to begin in half an hour. Not only has Sophie learned English, Megan has learned French, even though I pointed out the fact that only one of them needed to learn a whole new language. "Cassidy," my coach calls. Surprised, I turn back and skate over to her.

"Yeah?"

"I noticed you seemed a bit distracted. Is there anything wrong?"

Is there anything wrong? My boyfriend kissed one of my best friends and all my friends are breaking up.

"Nope." Coach leaves and I walk over to Jess and Becca, who are making a point of snubbing the other three girls. I don't know exactly what's gotten into Jess lately.

"Hey Cass," Becca immediately says," how about you two stay over at my house and we can discuss our revenge." I think. I was supposed to play with my little sister, Chloe, but I can't turn down Becca, who looks so hopeful.

"Sure," I say. Three hours later, I'm standing in front of Becca's mirror. I should have known.

"Just a little bit of makeup Cass?" She wheedles.

"Nope," I say. She throws her brush down in disgust.

"Fine,"

"Becca," Jess asks," are you and Theo still together?" Becca looks surprised.

"Of course! Why wouldn't we be? After all he did to come to college near Concord?" Jess shrugs. Dartmouth, where Darcy goes, is much farther. I look at Jess and I can tell she misses him. Suddenly, the phone rings. Becca grabs it up. "Hello?" She asks in her best Calliope Chadwick voice. "For Stewart? Of course." She opens her door. "Stewart!" She yells, "Phone!" She motions for us to be quiet and hits speakerphone.

"Hello?" Stewart asks.

"I can't believe you!" Emma yells. "You forget about the pool and now the movie?"

"I didn't forget," Stewart defends himself.

"Yeah? Why didn't you call?"

"I did!"

"Yeah, right." Emma slams down the phone.

"Stewart?" Becca says before he can hang up.

"_Becca_? Are you spying?"

"No," she lies," what number did you call?"

"Um, its…" The phone makes cracking noises as he moves to find a slip of paper. He reads off the numbers to Becca.

"Stewart! That's Mom's number!"

"WHAT! I TEXTED EMMA TO SAY SHE WAS BEAUTIFUL!

"You are such a loser!" Becca groans.

"That explains breakfast! Mom was all happy and even made chocolate chip pancakes with smiley faces!" I laugh and Becca groans again.

"I have Jess and Cassidy here you know," Stewart hangs up and we fall down laughing. I suddenly realize something. Theo and Becca are the last couple. I guess they really are the most loyal.

"Knock, knock!" A voice says.

"Stewart, go away!" Becca says in exasperation. The door opens and there are our pen pals from Gopher Hole. Winky Parker, Zoe Winchester, and Madison Daniels pop their heads in, grinning.


	9. A Couple's Worth a Thousand Words

**Hey guys! Thanks so much for reviews! Gosh, I got so many good suggestions that I can't fit them all in- not that I won't try! There are going to be two more chapters after this- Stay Smart and keep reading! -Marcie**

Becca

"_Zoe_?" I sputter. Zoe Winchester used to be really stuck up (I guess how I was) but now she's really nice, and she's one person that I can talk makeup with.

"Madison! Winky!" exclaims Jess. Madison Daniels is in a band, and she's really cool. Winky Parker is Cassidy's partner and she's a "Rodeo Princess". Cassidy used to think rodeo was stupid until she tried it. It's really hard! Megan ended up cutting her rope when she roped a cactus that Mrs. Parker puts out on square dance days.

"What are you doing here?" Cassidy asks.

"We wanted it to be a surprise!" Winky says. Looking at Cassidy, she recoils a little. "What?"

I sigh. I explain what happened, and when I'm done, they're all horrified.

"She _kissed_ your _boyfriend_?" Exclaims Zoe.

"What kind of friend does that?" Says Winky. She crossed to Cassidy and put her arm around her.

"What kind of boyfriend-OUCH!" Zoe starts to say until Madison wisely elbows her.

"We were just making plans," I say.

"Plans for what?" Madison asks.

"REVENGE!"

"Pipe down, Becca, you sound like someone from a horror movie!" Jess says dryly.

"Okay, okay. Mwah ha ha ha to you too."

"Really, Becca?" says Winky.

"Anyone have any ideas?" asks Cassidy.

"I know!" exclaims Winky. "Wait, who are we playing this prank on?"

"Megan," I say.

"And Emma," adds Cassidy.

"Okay- ready for it? How about we Knoffel them?"

"What?" Jess asks.

"Knoffel them!" Winky says. No one gets it. She sighs. "Okay, so we have to somehow get them to somewhere that we can see them but they can't see us, kay? Then you spray this!" She holds up a can that reads "Knofflers." "It's a discontinued type of hair spray. It stays in for three days!"

"Wait, is that why my hair was all stiff before the banquet?" Zoe asks.

"Um, how about we keep thinking," Says Jess tactfully.

"Oh my gosh!" I cry," I just remembered I'm meeting Theo in an hour!" Zoe snorts.

"I've fancied someone up in five minutes," She says. Fifteen minutes later, I'm standing in my room with flawless makeup, loose curls, and a gorgeous Lilac silk top that Zoe had in her suitcase. Winky and Cassidy went home ages ago, but Jess and Madison are still here.

"Wow!" Madison says, "You look great in that!"

"Thanks," I say. Minutes later, Zoe and I are sitting at our kitchen table, eating a dish my mom made.

"My Becca's growing up!" She says. I groan, and Zoe elbows me, smiling. Stewart walks in. "Stewart! Go get those hideous shoes off!" My mom barks.

"Um, Mom, I better go," I say. Zoe waves- she's staying with the Kincaid-Sloanes. I jump in the car and Mom drives me to the cinema, where Theo's waiting.

"What movie are we seeing?" I ask him breathlessly.

"Snakes 3!" He says excitedly. Oh, brother. I fall asleep halfway through the movie, and, luckily, wake up just before it ends. "Did you like it?" I look into his hopeful eyes.

"Of course!"

Nothing's too good for my Mr. Rochester.


	10. All's Well that Ends Fell

Jess

I guess the moms think that our fight is going to be over soon, because they all made us go ice skating together on this little rinky dink pond that they skated on ages ago. (Did I mention it's December?) I'm just saying, I doubt trying to make us skate together will make us like each other. I skate next to Cassidy, keeping my distance from Emma and Darcy, who have these wounded looks on their faces.

"I can't believe they're making us do this!" Cassidy groans.

"I know- it's pretty bad." I say.

"Pretty bad? There's no net! No hockey!" I sigh and skate towards Becca and Madison, who are discussing rock bands.

"Hey guys!" I say.

"Hey," replies Becca.

"So who do you like better?" asks Madison, naming two groups I've never heard of- I think the only rock band I've ever heard of is Led Zepplin, since Led and Zep got their names from it. Deciding that I have no interest, I skate toward Winky.

"Hey!" she says.

"Hi,"

"You're still bummed, aren't you?" She asks I nod.

"I heard your Grandmother got remarried" I say.

"Yeah, she did," Winky replies," I was a bridesmaid."

"Tell me about it," I suggest, and she does as we skate. I listen to her talk about their frilly yellow dresses- she refused to wear pink, just like Cassidy- until I'm exhausted. I skate off to the side of the pond, towards the snow, and suddenly the ice cracks and I'm in the water.

"JESS!" someone yells. I feel someone trying to pull me out of the water. Then everything goes black.

All I see are bright lights. Isn't that what you see when you're about to die? I'm only in High School; I'm not ready to die. Suddenly, I realize that I'm lying down, looking up at the ceiling.

"She's awake," someone, maybe Cassidy, whispers.

"What?" I say groggily. Someone makes the bed go up and I realize I'm in the hospital. When I can see I can tell that everyone is here- the whole book club and their families. A nurse comes in and says only one person at a time.

"Emma…" I say, and the nurse let's her in first.

"You want an explanation, right?"

"Mmmmm" For some reason it hurts to talk.

"When you went down, you broke your jaw, so don't talk," She says, "Darcy pulled you out and we loaded you into an ambulance that Megan called."

"Ca-"

"No, I said don't talk! You want an explanation of what happened to us all, right? No, don't answer that. Tristan and Megan were pushed together by Annabelle- we found proof. Simon and Cassidy were faking it, Becca admitted she took that picture incorrectly, and it turns out what Stewart thought was my number was his Mom's." If my face was not all bandaged I would have laughed. Next was my parents- my mom cried- and the twins, who gave me giant hugs. All the moms came in then and talked about how I could choose the next book. I'm thinking Gone with the Wind. Cassidy came in with Chloe, who held my hand and wouldn't let go until Cassidy picked her up. Then Megan, Becca, and Sophie came in, and Becca apologized to me. Then was Stewart and Darcy. Stewart just said about how he couldn't pull me out, and he was sorry, but Darcy just sat there and held my hand. The whole time. I felt horrible- he looked so _sad_- and he sat there until I fell asleep. When I woke up three hours later, he and Emma were still there, and despite what the doctors said, I sat up and gave them each a huge hug, trying not to cry. Emma did for me.


	11. So the Frog and the Toad were Friends

**Hey guys, here's the finale! Thanks for reading! - Marcie**

5 YEARS LATER

Megan

I guess we all had our fairytale endings. Turns out Cass is scared of thunderstorms, and she forgave Tristan when he literally held her hand all night. We're having a party to celebrate the book club. My mom (Handcuffs Wong) was elected mayor of Boston. Mrs. Sloane's TV show is super popular, and Mrs. Delaney started a popular theatre in town. Becca and Theo are engaged, and they have been for at least a year, but they're waiting for May 5th- our official book club wedding day. I's sitting next to Simon, and I lean my head against his shoulder. Yes, we're engaged as of last night, as are Emma and Stewart. We were sitting at the restaurant table when Emma took a sip of her water and shrieked. I thought there was a bug or something, but she took her fork and fished a shiny ring out of the water.

"Yes," she said as the whole restaurant clapped.

"Phew," Stewart whispered," that would have been awkward."

"Yeah," I whispered back. Emma was so excited that she was literally bouncing in her seat.

"Oh my gosh! I'm so happy!" She whispered to me as or dessert- some type of jello pudding- comes out. Mine was strawberry, and absolutely delicious.

"Smooth," I caught Stewart whispering. Well duh, jello's smooth. Suddenly, my spoon hit something hard. Huh? I pull my spoon out and see another ring. I look over and see Simon down on his knee and I do what any normal person would do: I start to cry.

"Yes," I said. Now, sitting on the couch, I examine the ring. It's a gold one with a sapphire surrounded by little diamonds and it's really pretty. Emma's is white gold with a diamond hear- it's perfect for her. Jess and Darcy got engaged last night too- the boys all planned this- and Jess found hers in a book. I guess it has some sort of sentimental value. That means there's only one couple left.

"I was so nervous" says Simon, squeezing my hand. I smile.

"I was too," agrees Darcy.

"Ditto," Stewart says.

"Seriously?" Tristan says," No big deal." Cassidy hold up her empty ring finger and he blushes. Becca tosses him her mood ring.

"Cass?"

"Sure, dude."

We all had to laugh at that. Oh, by the way, Cass is competing in the upcoming Winter Olympics for hockey and ice dancing with Tristan. It's the perfect end to the perfect day. Simon leans down and kisses me. Darcy kisses Jess, Stewart kisses Emma, and Becca grabs Theo to kiss him. Cass sits down on Tristan's lap, which is hilarious since she's almost as tall as him, and kisses him.

"Awwwwww," I jerk up. All the mom's stand in the doorway.

"MOM!"

A year later….

Cassidy

I know I said I would never get married. Hey, at least I'm walking down the aisle with my best friends! We're all wearing different gowns, all designed by famous designer, Megan Rose Wong. Jess's is lacy and long (all of ours are white except for Megan's, whose is blue because of Chinese customs.) Our Olympic hockey team won second, and Tristan and I dominated ice dancing. Anyway, Emma's dress is short in the front with a long train in the back and Megan designed her bodice to look like something Jane Austen would wear. Becca's is long, sparkly, and strapless with embedded diamonds. Megan's is a light blue with off the shoulder straps (or so she says) and her skirt becomes sparkly tulle when it reaches the knee. Mine, last, has long sleeves, like I said, but for the rest, Megan didn't listen. It has little gold flecks, is covered in tulle, and has a long skirt with a train. My hair is up and even I have to admit that I look nice. Even though I looked better in my Olympic costume. I'm nervous, but I have all my friends with me. My friend have led me through the ups and downs of life. That's what friendship is all about.


End file.
